MCYSEKA-Maritime Cyber Security Knowledge Archive

We are looking to upgrade our Concorde 4 hardwired system. My main concerns are (1) smoke/fire, (2) letting me know if someone breaks in while we are asleep, (3) being a deterrent, (4) having app access so I know if something is wrong while we are away, and (5) flood sensors for the sump pump and areas where a water leak on vacation could be catastrophic.

The Concorde still turns on, but I think it was previously an ADT system so not much we can do with it. Our city police will only respond to residential alarms if someone confirms there is an intruder inside, which makes the burglary aspect pretty useless in my book.

I got quotes from some local installers who can upgrade us (and keep our hardwired sensors) to either DSC Power Series NEO or Honeywell Vista 20P systems. But… they all want to handle monitoring as well.

Here is what I was told:

1. You cannot get access on an app with a DSC system unless you also buy a cellular module. No-contract monitoring from our local company with Alarm.com app access is $45/mo. The install cost would be about $1,100-$1,300 to get all the equipment we want.
2. Honeywell will allow an “ethernet only” connection with app access. The monthly price is $25/mo for monitoring, but the companies want to subsidize the install (bringing cost down to about $600) but lock you into a multi-year monitoring contract. Granted, $25/mo isn’t bad, but I don’t want a contract. If we don’t get it subsidized, our upfront costs are $1,200.

I’ve seen lots of websites that sell the DSC or Honeywell systems for a lot cheaper than what these local companies are quoting me. Plus, some of the online UL listed monitoring companies are a heck of a lot cheaper than the local companies.

Given that the burglary alarm part of the system is pretty useless in my city, having an app alert me to a water leak or smoke detection is crucial. Are there ANY local installers who can just install a system and not try to push you into a monitoring contract? And how difficult is it to buy the system from somewhere like alarmsuperstore and instal/program it yourself? (I don’t want to spend hours learning though…)